


always

by starsandfluff



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Kissing, Light Angst, Romance, arya stays in westeros, gendry knows arya's character better than d&d, i can be your family, jon and sansa and bran are mentioned, so is the HoBaW, why would she ever sail west?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2020-04-23 02:43:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19141960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starsandfluff/pseuds/starsandfluff
Summary: Gendry wants Arya to come with him to Storm's End. Arya is adamant about not being a lady.





	always

**Author's Note:**

> Hi this is just a quick little one-shot I wrote in one go with the dialogue prompt "you think this will make me stay?" It's not quite as dialogue heavy as some other fics i've written, but it's still a lot of dialogue since I write that first and then add the actions/thoughts/whatever. Hope you like it, I had a lot of fun writing this!

“You don’t have to do this, you can still come with me to Storm’s End.” Gendry took Arya’s hand in his, and looked at her with pleading eyes.

“You think this will make me stay?” Arya said, pulling her hand back. “Tying me down as your lady?”

“That’s not what I mean,”  _ I know you, Arya.  _ Gendry thought.  _ I would never ask that of you. _

“Oh really? Then what do you mean?”  _ I thought you knew me.  _ Arya thought.

“I...I just want  _ you _ , Arry, not Lady Arya or whatever. I’m not asking you to be my lady, I’m asking you to be my family, be with me,”

“It won’t work between us, Gendry,” Arya said, sighing. “I’m leaving,”

“I know, it’s just, is this really what you want?” Gendry asked.

“How would you know what I want?”

“Because I know you, Arya, I’ve seen you through hardship after hardship. The one thing that kept you going was family. Are you really going to leave them all behind to sail away off the edge of the world?”  _ Family.  _ Arya repeated in her head.  _ ‘I can be your family,’ I’d said to him, and he pushed me away. But Jon and Sansa and Bran…  _ She realized what she’d be giving up as Arya knew she might never return. Arya would never see Jon’s smile, never wheel Bran through the courtyard, and never hear Sansa’s laugh. And Gendry, she’d never see him ever again, never kiss him or hug him.

“I don’t know what I want,” Arya said quietly.  _ And it terrifies me.  _ She admitted to herself.

“Aye, that can be scary. I thought I’d be some smith in Flea Bottom for the rest of my life before I met you,”  _ I wish we could go back to those times. Back when you wanted to be my family and I was being stupid.  _ Gendry thought.

“It’s not like I’m leaving tomorrow, the ship won’t be ready for another moon. I have plenty of time to decide,”

“Is it really that difficult a decision? If you need time to reconsider, you already know the answer,”

“Gendry, please,” Arya said.

“I know this thing between us doesn’t mean much to you, but don’t leave your family, Arya, you’ll lose yourself again,” Gendry said, worry heavy in his voice. Ever since she’d opened up to him about Jaqen and Braavos and the House of Black and White, Gendry was worried every time he felt she was losing grip with her humanity, or went days without him seeing her smile. Gendry thought Arya had the prettiest smile in the whole world, and he’d do anything to stop it from disappearing forever.

“‘Doesn’t mean much to me’? You are everything to me,” Arya placed her hand on his cheek, forcing him to look in her eyes.

“Then why are you leaving me?” Gendry asked, still feeling rejected.

“I don’t think I will,” Arya said.

“Do you really want this, want us?”

“I don’t think I’m coming to Storm’s End, Winterfell will always be my home. I know I hurt you, if you just want to be friends—” Gendry bent down and put his lips on hers, pulling her into a passionate kiss.

“I don’t give a shit about lords and ladies, I love you,” He said, trying his best to make her believe that.

“I love you too,” Arya planted a quick kiss on his lips. “and you’ll always be my family,”

“Always,”

“Always,” 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm still on board with Arya and Gendry being Lord and Lady of Storm's End and redefining the social norms, but I write a ton of different endings for them (as long as they're together) and this one's okay with me too. I hope the sudden shift in Arya's character didn't feel that awkward. I'm really glad you read this, I hope you enjoyed!


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